Bucs QB Ryan Griffin out 'weeks' with shoulder injury

Bucs quarterback Ryan Griffin, shown in practice, suffered an injury to his throwing shoulder in Friday's preseason opener and will be sidelined for "weeks," coach Dirk Koetter said. LOREN ELLIOTT | TIMES

Greg Auman

Published: August 12, 2017

Bucs quarterback Ryan Griffin, battling for the top backup job behind Jameis Winston, injured his throwing shoulder in Friday's preseason loss to the Bengals, and while the injury won't require surgery, head coach Dirk Koetter said he will miss "weeks" recovering.

That means veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick is in strong position to be Winston's top backup, with undrafted rookie Sefo Liufau likely working as the No. 3 quarterback for the rest of preseason. Griffin went 4-for-9 for 57 yards against the Bengals before the injury.

"It's not great news," Koetter said. "He has an injury to his throwing shoulder, had an MRI today. He's going to be out for a while. I don't know the exact medical term. It's not going to require surgery. It's something that can heal, but it's going to take some time. Weeks."

In other injury news, second-year pro Devante Bond, who was playing as the starting strongside linebacker, will be sidelined with an undisclosed injury, which means promising rookie Kendell Beckwith will step up at strongside. Bond's injury is unrelated to the hamstring injury that sidelined him all of last season, and it's possible that he's back healthy for the season opener in four weeks.

Running back Russell Hansbrough suffered a concussion and is now in protocol and will likely miss this week's game at Jacksonville, Koetter said.

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